After the away defeat to Odra Opole and elimination from the STS Polish Cup, coach Mariusz Jop summed up the team’s performance while short-handed, the squad rotations, and the need for a quick response from the team.

Wisła Kraków’s coach pointed to two turning points in the match:

“I think there were two key moments. The first was Bozic’s red card, where I also think there was a clear foul on him two seconds before the card, although that absolutely does not excuse his behavior. The other moment was conceding the first goal. I think that if it hadn’t been for that situation, time would have been on our side. We were well organized in our deep defense and had our chances. Kacper Duda had an opportunity after a ball was laid back to the edge of the box, Julius had a one-on-one situation, and toward the end Rodado also sent a shot wide toward the opponent’s goal. It was certainly a very painful defeat. Before we even had the chance to make a proper start in the Polish Cup, we were already out of it. We are very dissatisfied with what we showed on the pitch today.”

Asked about the goalkeeper’s injury and the forced substitution, Mariusz Jop said:

“We are waiting for the diagnostic tests. He reported pain around his knee, so we will see what the examinations show.”

Asked about the situation of players further down the squad and their role in the team, the coach said:

“I think we need every player. It certainly isn’t the case that something ends for those who had played less up to now and played today, because the league season is long. Our strength has always been that those who played less—and we have had many examples of this in previous seasons and in various situations—were able to come onto the pitch and become important links, even one of the leaders. I absolutely don’t see it in such black-and-white terms that everyone who played less and now that there is no cup competition will no longer play. Absolutely not. We have great faith in all of them, and we will work so that the whole team continues to improve. Everyone is needed, we are counting on everyone, and I think that for many of the players who have played less recently, there will be a period during the season when they will also be regular starters.”

Addressing the mental aspect after elimination from the competition, Wisła Kraków’s coach stressed:

“The most important thing for me is to channel the footballing anger and disappointment we feel into our work and the right response in the next match. That is the only way forward, and that is certainly the direction we want to take, because this is football and unfortunately matches like this happen. Today we are disappointed, but we know that we will be playing another match shortly, and we need to clear our heads of these negative emotions as quickly as possible. After the draw in Szczecin and the victory over Wieczysta, there was certainly a lot of positive energy in the team. After a match like this, we will certainly drop a little, but we need to quickly pick ourselves up and forget about it as soon as possible so that we can channel this sporting anger and disappointment into good work in training and a good performance on difficult ground in Kielce on Saturday.”

Asked about carrying out the plan and Patryk Letkiewicz coming off his line, the coach explained:

“There was a clear message about how we wanted to set up in a deep, medium, and high block, what we wanted to do, and how we would play in possession. Letki’s reaction may have been a case of being overmotivated, because it was a completely unnecessary decision to come out when it was two against two and the ball was moving away. There was no need for the goalkeeper to come out to the penalty spot. I think that, from his perspective, it was more a desire to help the team in that difficult moment—to come out and buy a little time. At least that is how I interpret it.”

The journalist asked whether changing the starting lineup had been rotation for its own sake, to which the coach replied:

“I don’t know what ‘rotation for rotation’s sake’ means. Sometimes journalists accuse me of making substitutions too late or making too few changes, and now they say there was too much rotation. I know I can’t please everyone. These players simply deserved their chance—that’s how I see it, because I see them in training and I see how they work and how committed they are. I think that, generally speaking, most of those who had played less before put in a good performance in this match.”

Pressed for an individual assessment of Mariusz Kutwa in his new role, the coach cut the question short:

“This is not the time to assess individually who played in which position and whether they played well or badly. We will certainly conduct that analysis within the team. However, I think Mariusz played a good match in that position today.”

Asked whether the new player was ready to make his debut, Mariusz Jop briefly confirmed:

“He was on the bench, so he was also an option for a substitution.”

Asked about the team’s weaker performances in away matches, the coach said:

“I don’t know whether that is an appropriate comparison with what is happening in the PKO BP Ekstraklasa and what happened today. The Polish Cup is a separate competition, and it follows its own rules. The boundaries between the leagues tend to blur here, and as I said at the beginning, I think we lost this match partly through our own fault.”

Asked about the young player’s performance and the lessons for the future, the coach concluded:

“I certainly won’t be declaring today who will play how much or who will play in the next league match, because this is not the time for that. As for the positives, as I said, we need to try to channel the emotions we feel in the right direction—that means hard work in training and fighting on difficult ground in Kielce, which awaits us on Saturday.”